The Preacher wrote: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). In contrast, I have seen very little in my life. I have travelled outside of the United States only twice and that was to Canada. Because of my doctrinal preaching and conservative views, a disturbed liberal minded sister in Christ told me that I should get out of the state of Alabama in order to observe other cultures. I don’t totally disagree with that statement, but, what I preach is not based on my travel experience or a lack of the same; rather, I endeavor to follow the exhortation given by the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” Some synonyms of the word ‘seen’ are, “Behold, discern, notice, observe, perceive.” The following observations are several things I have seen in my life regarding serious problems in the church of Jesus Christ.
When I was a senior in high school, I was assisting others in serving the Lord’s Supper during the Sunday morning worship assembly. It was while we were passing the contribution baskets that a brother got up and from the pulpit he read a statement and when he finished, he asked a brother to pray. Following the prayer about 40 brothers and sisters got up and left the building. My home congregation had experienced a division. The reason was not because of false doctrine being taught or immorality being practiced by various members; rather, it was basically because the preacher was ‘too plain spoken’ when preaching on his daily radio program. Those of us living back in the early 1950s remember that many of our preachers would mention denominations by name when comparing what the Bible taught and what the creeds and disciplines written by men taught regarding the way of salvation, the church, acceptable worship and many other biblical subjects. Such ‘plainness of speech’ by our preacher caused prejudice in the minds of many. On the other hand, several denominational preachers were converted as well as scores of other individuals. There were times that people had to stand during the Sunday morning worship assembly due to the lack of seating space. There were at least four gospel preachers who developed from that group of Christians. But this experience has had a profound impact on my heart because this division separated families and close friends. I know that God hates division among His children when it is based on likes and dislikes regarding differences in opinions and human judgments (Proverbs 6:19; 1 Corinthians 14:33).
While a student in a Christian college during the 1950s, some of our outstanding brethren were debating over the issues of whether or not it was scriptural for a congregation to support orphan homes from the church treasury; and, whether or not various congregations could send money to another congregation to support a national television program like the Herald of Truth. I remember well that one of my best teachers drew on the black board what he believed was a parallel between an orphan home and the missionary society. I was a novice in such matters and had not made a decision on these subjects. It was not until I graduated that I was able to have the time to study and come to a personal conviction on these controversial subjects. The book by brother Thomas Warren on his lectures about the orphan home question aided me greatly in my decision making concerning these issues. I do remember that both the faculty and student body of the Christian college I was attending divided over these issues. Again, families and very close friends went their separate ways. In my own mind, I believe that if brethren had been more patience with one another and brotherly love had been manifested, perhaps this unfortunate division could have been averted.
The Preacher also wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9: “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” Students of the Old Testament are acutely aware of the instability of the children of Israel, whether you read of their disloyalty to God while they wandered in the wilderness for some 40 years; or, when they succumbed to idolatry as they followed the various gods of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Under the influence of Jezebel, the Israelites even served foreign gods. Eventually God punished them by having the Assyrians and Babylonians to slaughter thousands of them and to carry scores of them into captivity. The book of Joshua relates in no uncertain the fickleness of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is the tendency of mankind not to remind faithful to God over a long period of time. What has happened in times past will most likely occur again and again.
And that brings me to the present day apostasy occurring in the churches of Christ today. The seed of digression has been sown for over 60 years. Books written and periodicals published by some of our brethren have advocated a more progressive, liberal view of matters pertaining to the identity and worship of the church and the authority of the Scriptures. An apostasy does not happen overnight or over a few years but eventually it can and will occur. This is not “new under the sun.” In other words, it “has been” and “will be”. During my 54 years of preaching I have read the writings of brethren who teach that we are only a small part of the body of Christ; that diversity of doctrine is actually healthy and contributes to the ‘unity’ of believers; that after much study of the Scriptures and being led by the Holy Spirit some elders have come to the conclusion that the use of instrumental music and women preachers are acceptable to the Lord in our worship assemblies; that baptism, while important, is not necessarily and entirely to be practiced “for the remission of sins”; that cooperation with denominational bodies is greatly encouraged and that many congregations will have denominational preachers to speak in their worship assemblies. Some of our ‘scholarly’ brethren are teaching that there are contradictions to be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and that the first few chapters of Genesis are not to be understood as being literal, etc. This is nothing new. It has happened before. Some 150 years ago liberalism and modernism began to creep into the body of Christ. We lost most of our ‘Christian’ schools and congregations in certain parts of our country. Those who chose the more ‘progressive’ path have long lost their ‘mooring’ and have drifted eventually into the ‘main stream of the denominational world.
I have also seen some members who attended churches of Christ that were on the ‘cutting edge’ in religious matters and that propagated progressive and liberal views, to eventually leave the church altogether and wind up in a community church or some mainline denomination. On the other hand, it is sad to say that some brethren have become so radical in attitude and action that they consider all brethren to be liberal and apostate because they do not agree with them on certain issues and the interpretation of some passage. For them, there are no ‘gray areas’.
My sad eyes have seen too many negative happenings in the church of our Lord that causes my heart to hurt. I am old enough to remember when things were different. However, my eyes ‘light up’ when I read about large gatherings among us at some of the lectureships at a few of our Christian Universities, Preacher Schools and Polishing the Pulpit. There are scores of faithful gospel preachers who are declaring the whole counsel of God. Also there are young men who are studying diligently to become gospel preachers and who have chosen to give their lives in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray their number will increase. The kingdom of God will stand forever (Daniel 7:13, 14; Matthew 16:18). Our responsibility is to propagate the “seed” which is the “word of God” (Luke 8:11), and God will give “the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). ‘THE KINGDOM OF EARTH PASS AWAY’ is an old hymn that we used to sing. I found it in Christian Hymns, Number Two. Read the lyrics of the first stanza very carefully.
When I was a senior in high school, I was assisting others in serving the Lord’s Supper during the Sunday morning worship assembly. It was while we were passing the contribution baskets that a brother got up and from the pulpit he read a statement and when he finished, he asked a brother to pray. Following the prayer about 40 brothers and sisters got up and left the building. My home congregation had experienced a division. The reason was not because of false doctrine being taught or immorality being practiced by various members; rather, it was basically because the preacher was ‘too plain spoken’ when preaching on his daily radio program. Those of us living back in the early 1950s remember that many of our preachers would mention denominations by name when comparing what the Bible taught and what the creeds and disciplines written by men taught regarding the way of salvation, the church, acceptable worship and many other biblical subjects. Such ‘plainness of speech’ by our preacher caused prejudice in the minds of many. On the other hand, several denominational preachers were converted as well as scores of other individuals. There were times that people had to stand during the Sunday morning worship assembly due to the lack of seating space. There were at least four gospel preachers who developed from that group of Christians. But this experience has had a profound impact on my heart because this division separated families and close friends. I know that God hates division among His children when it is based on likes and dislikes regarding differences in opinions and human judgments (Proverbs 6:19; 1 Corinthians 14:33).
While a student in a Christian college during the 1950s, some of our outstanding brethren were debating over the issues of whether or not it was scriptural for a congregation to support orphan homes from the church treasury; and, whether or not various congregations could send money to another congregation to support a national television program like the Herald of Truth. I remember well that one of my best teachers drew on the black board what he believed was a parallel between an orphan home and the missionary society. I was a novice in such matters and had not made a decision on these subjects. It was not until I graduated that I was able to have the time to study and come to a personal conviction on these controversial subjects. The book by brother Thomas Warren on his lectures about the orphan home question aided me greatly in my decision making concerning these issues. I do remember that both the faculty and student body of the Christian college I was attending divided over these issues. Again, families and very close friends went their separate ways. In my own mind, I believe that if brethren had been more patience with one another and brotherly love had been manifested, perhaps this unfortunate division could have been averted.
The Preacher also wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9: “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” Students of the Old Testament are acutely aware of the instability of the children of Israel, whether you read of their disloyalty to God while they wandered in the wilderness for some 40 years; or, when they succumbed to idolatry as they followed the various gods of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Under the influence of Jezebel, the Israelites even served foreign gods. Eventually God punished them by having the Assyrians and Babylonians to slaughter thousands of them and to carry scores of them into captivity. The book of Joshua relates in no uncertain the fickleness of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is the tendency of mankind not to remind faithful to God over a long period of time. What has happened in times past will most likely occur again and again.
And that brings me to the present day apostasy occurring in the churches of Christ today. The seed of digression has been sown for over 60 years. Books written and periodicals published by some of our brethren have advocated a more progressive, liberal view of matters pertaining to the identity and worship of the church and the authority of the Scriptures. An apostasy does not happen overnight or over a few years but eventually it can and will occur. This is not “new under the sun.” In other words, it “has been” and “will be”. During my 54 years of preaching I have read the writings of brethren who teach that we are only a small part of the body of Christ; that diversity of doctrine is actually healthy and contributes to the ‘unity’ of believers; that after much study of the Scriptures and being led by the Holy Spirit some elders have come to the conclusion that the use of instrumental music and women preachers are acceptable to the Lord in our worship assemblies; that baptism, while important, is not necessarily and entirely to be practiced “for the remission of sins”; that cooperation with denominational bodies is greatly encouraged and that many congregations will have denominational preachers to speak in their worship assemblies. Some of our ‘scholarly’ brethren are teaching that there are contradictions to be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and that the first few chapters of Genesis are not to be understood as being literal, etc. This is nothing new. It has happened before. Some 150 years ago liberalism and modernism began to creep into the body of Christ. We lost most of our ‘Christian’ schools and congregations in certain parts of our country. Those who chose the more ‘progressive’ path have long lost their ‘mooring’ and have drifted eventually into the ‘main stream of the denominational world.
I have also seen some members who attended churches of Christ that were on the ‘cutting edge’ in religious matters and that propagated progressive and liberal views, to eventually leave the church altogether and wind up in a community church or some mainline denomination. On the other hand, it is sad to say that some brethren have become so radical in attitude and action that they consider all brethren to be liberal and apostate because they do not agree with them on certain issues and the interpretation of some passage. For them, there are no ‘gray areas’.
My sad eyes have seen too many negative happenings in the church of our Lord that causes my heart to hurt. I am old enough to remember when things were different. However, my eyes ‘light up’ when I read about large gatherings among us at some of the lectureships at a few of our Christian Universities, Preacher Schools and Polishing the Pulpit. There are scores of faithful gospel preachers who are declaring the whole counsel of God. Also there are young men who are studying diligently to become gospel preachers and who have chosen to give their lives in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray their number will increase. The kingdom of God will stand forever (Daniel 7:13, 14; Matthew 16:18). Our responsibility is to propagate the “seed” which is the “word of God” (Luke 8:11), and God will give “the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). ‘THE KINGDOM OF EARTH PASS AWAY’ is an old hymn that we used to sing. I found it in Christian Hymns, Number Two. Read the lyrics of the first stanza very carefully.
The kingdoms of earth pass away one by one,
But the kingdom of Heaven remains;
It is built on a rock and the Lord is its King,
And forever and ever he reigns.
Chorus
It shall stand, It shall stand,
And forever and ever he reigns.
Chorus
It shall stand, It shall stand,
Forever and ever and ever, It shall stand,
It shall stand, Forever and ever, Amen and Amen.”
- J. H. Fillmore
It shall stand, Forever and ever, Amen and Amen.”
- J. H. Fillmore
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